Karen Kedrowski, Ph.D.

karenmk1@iastate.edu

Full Professor

Iowa State University

Year of PhD: 1992

Phone: 515-294-4185

Address: 309 Catt Hall

City: Ames, Iowa - 50011

Country: United States

Website

Social Media:

X: KarenKedrowski

About Me:

Dr. Kedrowski is the Director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics and Professor of Political Science at Iowa State University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in 1992, and her B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1986. She is the author of Media Entrepreneurs and the Media Enterprise in the U.S. Congress (1996); coauthor of Cancer Activism (2007), Breastfeeding Rights in the United States (2008) and Walking the Gendered Tightrope:Theresa May and Nancy Pelosi as Legislative Leaders (2023). Kedrowski is also author or coauthor of numerous journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews. Previously, Kedrowski spent 24 years at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where she held numerous positions, including chair of the Political Science department and Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. In 2010, she was the visiting Fulbright Chair in Health, Indigenous Peoples, Media, and Education at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Kedrowski has received numerous awards and honors, including Winthrop University's highest award, Distinguished Professor, in 2011.

Research Interests

Gender and Politics

Health Politics and Policy

Civic Engagement

Countries of Interest

United States

Publications:

Journal Articles:

(2023) "It’s My Greatest Desire Before I Die to be in the Iowa Constitution:" Iowa and the Equal Rights Amendment, Annals of Iowa

This article recounts the history of the Equal Rights Amendment in Iowa.

(2023) Political Events: The 2020 Iowa Caucus., Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Cases

This article describes a student simulation of the Iowa Caucuses.

(2022) Performing Toxic Masculinity During the January 6 Insurrection., eJournal of Public Affairs

This article argues that the January 6 insurrectionists were acting on a form of toxic masculinity.

(2022) Integrating Civic Engagement into Scholarly Reward Systems, PS

This article uses Boyer's typology to assert that civic engagement research is one that should be fully incorporated into scholarly review systems for tenure, promotion, and merit pay.

(2021) Students Perceptions of Experiential Learning in a Political Events Course: A Case Study from Iowa, Journal of Convention and Event Tourism

This paper describes and analyzes the efficacy of an Iowa Caucus simulation in a political events course for undergraduates.

(2017) When the Party Comes to Town: Experiential Learning during a Presidential Nominating Convention, Journal of Political Science Education

This article describes and analyzes how to incorporate attending events and activities surrounding a presidential nominating convention into a political science course.

(2016) Becoming a Stop on the Road to the White House: Developing a Campus-wide Protocol for Candidate Visits, PS

This article describes and analyzes how a regional public university developed and used a campus protocol to recruit and manage presidential candidate visits.

(2007) Who Makes It Easy? Courting Journalists Through Congressional Web Sites, Journal of Political Science

This article analyzes congressional web sites in terms of how appealing they are to journalists.

(2006) ’Your Father Works for My Father:’ Race, Class, and the Politics of Voluntary Mandated Desegregation, Teachers College Record

This article describes how a medium-sized Southern town maintained its commitment to school racial desegregation while also seeking to balance issues of social class.

(2004) Electoral Structures, Venue Selection and the (New?) Politics of School Desegregation, Perspectives on Politics

This article examines the relationship between school board selection systems and methods of advancing school desegregation.

(2004) The Constitution and the War Power: What Motivates Congressional Behavior, Armed Forces & Society

This analysis examines factors and world view that predict members' of Congress's votes on war powers issues.

(2003) Civic Education By Mandate: A State By State Analysis, PS

This article documents the states that require colleges and universities to offer civic education in their state codes.

(2001) Media Strategies Used by Junior Members of Congress, Journal of Political Science

This article examines the strategies that junior members of Congress use to communicate with constituents and within the Washington community.

(1996) Using the Media to Influence Policy: The Persian Gulf War Debate, Extensions

This article uses the Persian Gulf War Debate as a case study of how members of Congress use the media to influence policy decisions.

Books Written:

(2024) Palgrave Handbook of Fashion and Politics, Palgrave Macmillan

This edited volume is the first in political science to comprehensively examine the the nexus between fashion and politicsl.

(2023) Walking the Gendered Tightrope: Theresa May and Nancy Pelosi as Legislative Leaders, University of Michigan Press

This book examines the gender dynamics of women exercising power in the US Congress and the UK Parliament.

(2008) Breastfeeding Rights in the United States, Praeger

The first comprehensive analysis of state and federal breastfeeding laws, regulations, and court cases. The book finds that breastfeeding is a recognized parental right but one that is highly constrained by the rights of competing actors, including employers, fathers, and the public.

(2007) Cancer Activism: Gender, Media and Public Policy, University of Illinois Press

This book compares the breast cancer and prostate cancer movements in the United States and finds that the breast cancer movement is far more successful in garnering media coverage, public policy attention, and research funding. This is the case even though prostate cancer is as prevalent among men as breast cancer is among women. The authors attribute the difference to the large, well organized grassroots movement of breast cancer survivors and advocates.

(1996) Media Entrepreneurs and the Media Enterprise in the US Congress., Hampton Press

This book examines how members of Congress use the media to influence the legislative process.

Book Chapters:

(2024) Embracing the Politics of the Possible: Voter Engagement at an R-1 Institution, Information Age Pub Inc

This chapter in Goldberg and Whaley's Leaning Into Politics explores the challenges, pitfalls, and successes in running at student voter engagement project at a research focuses institution.

(2024) Civic Education for the Majority: Centering Women in Civic Education, Palgrave Macmillan

This chapter in Teaching Civic Engagement in an Era of Divisive Politics (Whaley, Rank and Bell, eds.,) argues that college level civics education should be tailored to the needs and interests of women, who are the majority of college students.

(2022) What Your Ph.D. Advisors Can’t Tell You Because They Don’t Know: Landing a Job and Succeeding at a Student-Focused Institution, American Political Science Association

This brief note in Lorentz et al., eds., Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond, provides job hunting advice for candidates interested in student centered institutions.

(2022) Succeeding at a Research Intensive Institution, American Political Science Association

This essay in Lorentz et al., eds., Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond, provides advice to graduate school and new faculty for succeeding at R1 institutions.

(2022) Balancing Pregnancy, Parenthood, and Graduate School, American Political Science Association

This essay in Lorentz et al., eds., Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond, focuses on the issues faced by pregnant and parenting graduate students.

(2015) Lessons Learned from the Breast and Prostate Cancer Movements, Oncology Nursing Society

This chapter provides an update to the Cancer Activism Book.

(2014) Cancer, CQ Press

Brief summary of literature in Steel's Science and Politics: An A-to-Z Guide.

(2009) Breastfeeding Practices, Policies and Politics in a Global Context, ABC CLIO

This chapter in Gelb and Palley's Women and Politics Around the World focuses on international breastfeeding policy and practices.

(2002) The Gendering of Cancer Policy: Media Advocacy and Congressional Policy Attention, University of Oklahoma Press

This chapter compares the legislative impact of the breast cancer and prostate cancer movements.

(2000) How Members of Congress Use the Media to Influence Policy, CQ Press

This chapter is a selection from the 1996 book "Media Entrepreneurs and the Media Enterprise," in Graber's Media Power and Politics, 4th edition and 5th edition (2006).

Other:

(2024) 19th Amendment Learning Resources: Curriculum and Background 2nd edition, Carrie Chapman Catt Center

This peer-reviewed, updated curriculum provides five lessons and the suffrage movement and its place in US voting rights history.

(2022) The Equal Rights Amendment at 100: History and Current Issues, Carrie Chapman Catt Center

This is a peer reviewed, high school curriculum with five lessons about the history of the Equal Rights Amendment from 1923-2023.

Media Appearances:

Other:

(2024) Various

Media interviews and appearances at Iowa State University, 2019-2024 • The 19th. • 900CHML (Hamilton, ONT radio) • ABC News (national) • AFP-New York • Agence France Press • American Prospect • The Ames (IA) Tribune • Associated Press, Minneapolis • Associated Press. Des Moines • The Attitude with Arnie Arneson (Syndicated public radio talk show) • Axios • BBC • Bloomberg News • The Boston Globe • The Buffalo News • C-SPAN 2 (GOP Caucus night coverage, 2024) • Cedar Rapids (IA) Gazette. • The Christian Science Monitor • CGTN America (Chinese TV network) • Civic Café Podcast • CJOB (Winnipeg) • CNBC • The Daily Iowan • The Daily Nonpareil • The Des Moines Register • East Wing Magazine • Eastern Iowa Farmer • The Epoch Times • Fearless (part of Iowa Business Record) • Fox News (national) • The Forum News Service • Gazeta Wyborcza (Polish newspaper) • The Georgetown Voice • Global News (Toronto) • The (Burlington, IA) Hawkeye • The Hill • The Huffington Post • i24 NEWS (French international television) • iHeart Radio • Inside Higher Education • Iowa Business Journal • The Iowa Farmer • Iowa Public News Service • Iowa Public Radio • Iowa PBS • Iowa Starting Line • The Iowa State Daily • KARE 11 TV (Minneapolis) • KCCI-TV (Des Moines, IA) • KCRG-TV (Cedar Rapids, IA) • KDSN Radio (Denison, IA) • KHOI Radio (Ames, IA) • KGAN-TV (Cedar Rapids, IA) • KSQD Media (Atlanta, GA) • KWQC-TV (Davenport, IA) • Kyoto (Japan) News Service • Kongressen.com (Danish newspaper covering US politics) • Le Journal Dimanche (French news magazine) • LIFT Iowa • The Los Angeles Times • Midwest Energy News • NRC Handelsblad (Dutch newspaper) • The National Interest • National Public Radio • The New Arab (online news site) • The New Boston Post • The New York Post • The New York Times • The Omaha (NE) News • The Omaha World-Herald • OneMetro (largest international free newspaper) • Politics Rising • Public News Service (Midwest region) • Radio Iowa • Reuter’s News Service • “River To River,” Iowa Public Radio • Roll Call • The (Columbia, SC) State Newspaper • The Straits Times (Southeast Asian news) • “Talk of Iowa,” Iowa Public Radio • Talking Points Memo • Télam (Argentina’s national news agency) • USA Today • Vice News • Voice of America • Vox • Washington Post • The Well News • WHO-TV (Des Moines, IA) • WHO-Radio (Des Moines, IA) • WOI-TV (Des Moines, IA) • WOI Radio (Des Moines, IA) • WPLG 10 TV (Miami, FL) • Women in Higher Education

(2019) Various

Media appearances while at Winthrop University, 1994-2019: • The Academic Minute (October 30, 2017) • Bloomberg News • The Boston Globe • The Bustle (online women’s magazine) • “Carolina Business Review,” (WTVI, regional PBS public affairs television show) • “Charlotte Talks,” WFAE (NPR affiliate) • Chicago Tribune • CJAD (Montreal, QC) • CN2 (includes election night commentary in November 2000) • Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report • The Detroit Free Press • “The Danny Fontana Show (nationally syndicated talk show) • Dziennik (Polish newspaper) • Fox News (national) • The (Rock Hill) Herald • The Huffington Post • The Johnsonian • KLTF Radio (Little Falls, MN) • The Lancaster News • McClatchy Newspapers (National) • News 14 Carolina TV • Norsk Telegrambyra (Norwegian News Agency) • Oncology Times • “Piedmont Politics” (regional educational television show) • The (Charleston) Post and Courier • Pravda (Slovak daily newspaper) • The Roddey-McMillan Record • SCETV radio • The (Columbia, SC) State • “Straight Talk” (regional radio talk show) on WRHI • Time magazine • United Press International • WalletHub.com (online magazine) • Winthrop News at the Half • Winthrop Close Up • WBTV (includes election night commentary in 2010). • WCNC-TV (NBC-6) • WFAE (Charlotte NPR) • WFVT-TV • WNSC-TV • WSOC-TV • WRHI Radio (includes election night commentary in 2012, 2014, 2017, and 2018) • WWL Radio (New Orleans) • York Observer/Charlotte Observer